Methods and apparatus for providing access to vehicle electronic systems

ABSTRACT

One embodiment is directed to providing access between external systems and embedded vehicle electronic systems. That is, an interface module may receive information from a system external to the vehicle, determine an embedded system of the vehicle to which to provide the information, and provide the information to the embedded system. Similarly, the interface module may receive information a embedded electronic systems of a vehicle, determine a system external the vehicle to which to provide the information, and provide the information to the external system.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C.§120 and §121 of, and is a divisional application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/603,327, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDINGACCESS TO VEHICLE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS” filed on Nov. 21, 2006, which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to providing access between externalsystems and vehicle electronic systems.

2. Discussion of Related Art

The Global Information Grid (GIG) is a system to provide processing,storage, management, and transport of information to support militaryand defense operations. The GIG supports the new network-centric warfaredoctrine of the military, which is to facilitate the sharing ofinformation among geographically dispersed forces.

The ultimate goal of the GIG is to link all operating locations,including bases, posts, camps, stations, facilities, mobile platforms,and deployed sites. This is expected to increase information sharing,collaboration, and shared situational awareness, which allows for agreater degree of synchronization and mission effectiveness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of providingaccess to a plurality of embedded systems in a vehicle via an interfacemodule comprising acts of: receiving, at the interface module,information from a system external to the vehicle; determining, at theinterface module, at least one of the plurality embedded systems towhich to provide the information; and providing the information from theinterface module to the at least one of the plurality of embeddedsystems.

Another embodiment is directed to an interface module for providingaccess to a plurality of embedded systems in a vehicle comprising: atleast one external interface configured to receive information from asystem external to the vehicle; and at least one component to determineat least one of the plurality embedded systems to which to provide theinformation and provide the information from the interface module to theat least one of the plurality of embedded systems.

A further embodiment is directed to a method of providing access to aplurality of embedded systems in a vehicle via an interface modulecomprising acts of: receiving, at the interface module, information fromat least one of the plurality of embedded systems; determining, at theinterface module, at least one system external to the vehicle to whichto provide the information; and providing the information from theinterface module to the at least one system external to the vehicle.

Another embodiment is directed to a method of providing access to aplurality of embedded systems in a vehicle via an interface modulehaving an internal network and a plurality of components thatcommunicate via the internal network, wherein the components include atleast one mission workflow component and at least one embedded systeminterface component. The method comprises acts of: receiving, at theinterface module, information from a system external to the vehicle;determining, at the at least one mission workflow component, at leastone of the plurality embedded systems to which to provide theinformation; and providing the information from the interface module tothe at least one of the plurality of embedded systems via the at leastone embedded system interface component.

A further embodiment is directed to an interface module for providingaccess to a plurality of embedded systems in a vehicle comprising: aninternal network configured to receive information from a systemexternal to the vehicle; and a plurality of components that communicatevia the internal network, the plurality of components comprising atleast one mission workflow component configured to determine at leastone of the plurality of embedded systems to which to provide theinformation and at least one embedded system interface componentconfigured to provide the information from the interface module to theat least one of the plurality of embedded systems.

Another embodiment is directed to a method of providing access to aplurality of embedded systems in a vehicle via an interface modulehaving an internal network and a plurality of components thatcommunicate via the internal network, wherein the components include atleast one mission workflow component and at least one embedded systeminterface component. The method comprises acts of: receiving, via the atleast one embedded system interface component, information from at leastone of the plurality of embedded systems; determining, at the at leastone mission workflow component, at least one system external to thevehicle to which to provide the information; and providing theinformation from the interface module to the at least one systemexternal to the vehicle.

A further embodiment is directed to a method of providing access to aplurality of embedded systems in a vehicle via an interface modulehaving an internal network and a plurality of components thatcommunicate via the internal network, wherein each of the plurality ofcomponents is of a defined type, wherein each type of component has apredefined interface, wherein each component implements the predefinedinterface for its respective type. The method comprises acts of:receiving, at the interface module, information from a system externalto the vehicle; determining, at the interface module, at least one ofthe plurality embedded systems to which to provide the information; andproviding the information from the interface module to the at least oneof the plurality of embedded systems.

Another embodiment is directed to an interface module that providesaccess to a plurality of embedded systems in a vehicle comprising: aninternal network that receives information from a system external to thevehicle; and a plurality of components that communicate via the internalnetwork and are configured to determine at least one of the pluralityembedded systems to which to provide the information and provided theinformation from the interface module to the at least one of theplurality of embedded systems, wherein each of the plurality ofcomponents is of a defined type, wherein each type of component has apredefined interface, wherein each component implements the predefinedinterface for its respective type.

A further embodiment is directed to a method of providing access to aplurality of embedded systems in a vehicle via an interface modulehaving an internal network and a plurality of components thatcommunicate via the internal network, wherein each of the plurality ofcomponents is of a defined type, wherein each type of component has apredefined interface, wherein each component implements the predefinedinterface for its respective type, and wherein the method comprises actsof: receiving, at the interface module, information from at least one ofthe plurality of embedded systems; determining, at the interface module,at least one system external to the vehicle to which to provide theinformation; and providing the information from the interface module tothe at least one system external to the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system in which an interface moduleinterfaces external systems with embedded electronic systems, inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an interface module having a peer-to-peerarchitecture, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an interface module having a centralizedarchitecture, in accordance with one embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a component framework for an interfacemodule, in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Military and other vehicles typically have embedded electronic systemsthat are used for navigation, communication, instrumentation, managementand control of onboard systems (e.g., engine control and weaponsdelivery), and other functions. These systems may include, for example,the avionics of aircraft as well the electronic systems of terrestrialand marine vehicles.

Applicants have appreciated that the embedded electronic systems of avehicle are typically tightly integrated with each other. That is, suchsystems are typically designed to work together and frequently usespecialized interfaces and/or protocols to accomplish this. Tightintegration of the embedded systems of a vehicle helps ensure that thedifferent on-board systems work together and helps to increase thesafety and reliability of these systems, which is particularly importantin military applications. However, such tight integration limits theability of these systems to receive information from and provideinformation to off-board external systems.

That is, for example, during a mission the embedded systems of ahelicopter may have only the information loaded prior to the mission andany information obtained via the on-board sensors. Thus, the pilot islimited to the information brought with him on the mission, informationreceived from onboard sensors, and any information that can becommunicated to him by voice over the radio. The embedded systems of thehelicopter may not be capable of receiving or processing updatedsatellite images of a target or updated intelligence information on thelocation of enemies or targets.

Applicants have appreciated that it may be useful in many situations toprovide embedded electronic systems with the capability to operate withexternal networks, so that updated information from external sources maybe provided to the on-board systems and so that the on-board systems mayprovide information to external destinations. For example, it may beuseful to provide these systems with the capability to receiveinformation from and provide information to the GIG.

Applicants have further appreciated that it is undesirable to makesignificant modifications to the existing embedded systems to enablethem to communicate with external systems. As mentioned above, theon-board systems of a vehicle are tightly integrated by design to assistin assuring safety and reliability. Making significant modifications tothese components may jeopardize their reliability and/or may requirelengthy security or safety re-certifications. Further, modifying avehicle's existing electronic systems to incorporate network-centriccapabilities (i.e., the capabilities to communicate with externalnetworks) may require making the same modifications to multiplecomponents, thereby requiring a duplication of effort.

Thus, some embodiments of the invention are directed to an interfacemodule that acts as an interface between a vehicles on-board electronicsystems and external (i.e., off-board) networks and systems. Someembodiments may address the above-described drawbacks of embeddedelectronic systems. However, the invention is not limited in thisrespect, as not every embodiment addresses every drawback describedabove and some embodiments may not address any of these drawbacks.Further, it should be appreciated that the term “vehicle” as usedherein, includes any mobile carrier (manned or unmanned), such asairborne vehicles (e.g., airplanes and helicopters), terrestrialvehicles (e.g., trucks, tanks, vans, cars), marine vehicles, and/or anycombination thereof. The invention is not limited to use in militaryvehicles, as some embodiments are equally suited for use in civilianvehicles.

In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 101 includes embeddedelectronic systems 103 and an interface module 113. The embeddedelectronic systems may include, for example, on-board displays 105,sensors 107, and mission computer 109. Displays 105 may include, forexample, monitors, gauges, or other display devices that displayinformation to a human (e.g., the vehicle operator or a passenger).Sensors 107 may include for example, sensors used to monitor themechanical systems of the vehicle, sensors that provide data forcomputing speed, altitude, position, or other vehicle statusinformation, sensors used to monitor external environmental conditions,or any other suitable type of sensor. Mission computer 109 may be acomputer that assists in navigation, mission planning, and other controlfunctions. These devices may communicate with each other, for example,via legacy network 111 and may communicate with external systems 114 viainterface module 113.

The external systems may include, for example, real-time intelligencefeeds 115 which provide intelligence information, an unmanned aerialvehicle datalink 117 which provides imagery and/or other informationobtained from UAVs and allows for command and control of UAVs, andsatellite imagery datalink 119 which provides imagery obtained fromsatellite cameras. Interface module 113 may receive data from externalsystems 113 and provide this information to embedded electronic systems103. Interface module 113 may also provide information from embeddedelectronic systems 103 to external systems that are consumers of thisinformation. For example, if one of sensors 107 is an infrared sensor,interface module 113 may provide infrared imagery obtained via thissensor to an external consumer of this information, such as, forexample, other vehicles in the same geographic area or a command andcontrol center which may use this information to make strategicdecisions.

In the example of FIG. 1, external systems 114 serve as sources ofinformation for embedded systems 103. However, the invention is notlimited in this respect, as external systems 114 may include systemsthat receive data from embedded electronic systems 103. Indeed, someexternal systems may both provide information to and receive informationfrom the embedded electronic systems. Further, in the example of FIG. 1,three external systems are shown (i.e., systems 115, 117, and 199).These systems are shown merely as examples of the types of systems thatmay communicate with the systems on-board vehicle 101 and of the typesof data that may be provided. However, the invention is not limited inthis respect as interface module 113 may interface with any number ortype of external systems. Similarly, in the example of FIG. 1, threetypes of embedded electronic systems are shown in vehicle 101 (i.e.,displays 105, sensors 107, and mission computer 109). It should beunderstood that these are merely examples of the types of on-boardelectronic systems for which interface module 113 serves as aninterface, and that interface module 113 may serve as an interface forany number of type of embedded electronic systems, as the invention isnot limited in this respect.

As discussed above, interface module 113 may provide information fromexternal systems 113 to embedded electronic systems 103. This may bedone in any suitable way, as the invention is not limited in thisrespect. One example of an interface module 113 that may be used in someembodiments of the invention is shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, interface module 113 includes an internal network 201 andcomponents 203-221. Information may be received from an external systemor network via one or more of communication device(s) 223 and placed oninternal network 201. Communication devices 223 may include, forexample, legacy (i.e., pre-existing) communication devices of thevehicle and/or additional communication devices added to the vehicle toenable communication with external systems. Communication devices 223may include, for example, radios and/or other wireless communicationdevices.

Each of components 221-223 acts as a peer on internal network 201. Thatis, each component may listen for information placed on internal network201, determine, based on the content of the information, if theinformation is intended for it, and if so, process the information.

The components on internal network 201 may enable operation of theembedded electronic systems with external systems by re-formattinginformation so that it is in a format which is suitable for use by anembedded electronic system or an external system that is an intendedrecipient of data, by managing incoming and outgoing data and thehardware resources used to send and receive such data, and by providingadditional functionality that enables the embedded electronic systems tomake use of new types of information provided from external systems.

For example, components 213, 215, 217, 209, and 211 may be used in thereformatting of data. That is, legacy interface processing element 213may serve as an interface to the embedded electronic systems of thevehicle. As discussed above, embedded components frequently employspecialized protocols and interfaces. Legacy interface processingelement may be capable of accessing the interface used by an embeddedsystem and sending information to the system according to the protocolthat it uses.

Thus, for example, legacy interface processing element 213 determines ifinformation on internal network 201 is intended for one of the embeddedelectronic systems of the vehicle and, if so, retrieves the information,converts it to a form that the destination electronic system canunderstand, and sends the information to the system. Legacy interfaceprocessing element 213 may also retrieve information from the embeddedelectronic systems and provide this information to external systems viaone or more of communication devices 223. Legacy interface processingelement 213 interfaces with embedded systems using legacy hardwareinterfaces 225. These hardware interfaces allow interface module 113 toconnect to the legacy communication networks and buses used by theembedded electronic systems.

Mission Display Processing Element 215 may provide the capability tocommunicate information between the interface module and the operatorvia operator control(s) and/or display(s). That is, for example, someinformation that is desired to be communicated between the interfacemodule and the operator may not be able to be readily processed (orprocessed at all) by the embedded electronic systems of the vehicle. Forexample, the interface module may provide a new capability forpresenting UAV image data to the operator, while the existing embeddedelectronic systems are not capable of presenting this information to theoperator. Thus, Mission Display Processing Element 215 may present thisinformation to the operator and receive control input from the operator.In some embodiments, Mission Display Processing Element 215 maycommunicate with an additional operator control and display unit that isadded to enable display of the new type of information. In otherembodiments, Mission Display Processing Element 215 may communicate withan existing operator control and display unit. This may be done in anysuitable way, such as, for example, through unused or spare displaypages, display overlay or control keys, or in any other suitable way.

Real-Time Image Compression Element 217 may receive image data providedfrom one or more of the embedded electronic systems and compresses theimage data so that it is in a format suitable for transmission to anexternal system. Net-Centric Mediation Services Element 209 providesdata translation functionality. For example, element 209 may translatedata from one format to another, or may perform conversions, such as,for example, translating standard units to metric units.

Data Fusion Processing Element 211 may combine individual pieces of datathat are associated with the same logical object. For example, theinterface module may receive multiple data reports regarding the sametarget from multiple sensors (e.g., radar, infrared sensors, electronicsupport measures sensors, or any other suitable sensors). Data FusionProcessing Element 211 may determine that the reports received fromthese sensors are for the same target and may combine the informationinto a single report that includes a composite set of attributes for thetarget. This may reduce the number of reports that an operator of thevehicle or other systems need to process and the composite report mayfacilitate a better understanding of the target than separatelyreviewing the individual reports.

Components 203, 207, and 219, for example, may provide managementcapabilities. That is, Core Mission Processing Element with Simulation203 may support simulated operation for use in system testing andoperator training. This component may provide simulations of existingembedded systems of the vehicle or new systems to be added to thevehicle and may simulate information from flow from such systems.Additionally, this element may provide simulations of external systemsto mimic information flow from those systems.

Communication Manager Processing Element 207 manages any ofcommunication devices 223 added to communicate with external systems.Thus, for example, if an additional radio is added to communicate withexternal systems, communication manager processing element 207 maycontrol the operation of the radio, such as for example, powering it onand off, tuning it, and other management functions.

File Server Element 219 may provide a storage capability within theinterface module. For example, this element may provide persistentstorage of data on magnetic disk, solid state memory, or othernon-volatile memory, or may provide temporary storage to maintaininformation during operations or missions.

Components 205 and 221 may provide additional functionality for theembedded electronic systems of the vehicle. For example, digital mapprocessing element 221 that receives location information of points ofinterest (e.g., enemy positions, targets, friendlies, current positionof vehicle) and generates a digital map that marks the location of thesepoints of interest. The digital map may then be sent to one or more ofthe embedded electronic systems for display to a vehicle operator orpassenger. Collaboration and replanning processing element 205 mayprovide an online meeting or whiteboard functionality to allow multiplegeographically disparate vehicles to electronically conference. Thus,for example, collaboration and replanning processing element may processthe net-meeting/whiteboard data and may send information to an embeddeddisplay or monitor of the vehicle.

Components 203-221 are merely examples provided to illustrate the typesof functionality that may be provided to embedded electronic systems viainterface module 113. It should be appreciated that additionalcomponents may be added to provide additional types of functionality andthe invention is not limited with respect to the number of components ininterface module 113 or the types of functionality that these componentsprovide.

Interface module 113 and its components may be implemented in anysuitable way, as the invention is not limited in this respect. Forexample, components 203-221 may be implemented in hardware or software,or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, each of components203-221 may be implemented as a separate application program executingon a single processor or may be implemented as separate threads of asingle application program executing on a single processor. However, theinvention is not limited in this respect, as when implemented insoftware, these components need not all execute on the same processor,as any suitable number of processors may be used (including, forexample, one processor for each component). Alternatively, in someembodiments, each component of the interface module may implemented on aseparate computer, having its own processing and memory resources.

Further, any suitable physical package may be used for interface module113. For example, in some embodiments, the interface module may behoused in a roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) rack that may be rolled on to avehicle and connected to the existing embedded systems of the vehicle.In some embodiments, the software components of interface module 113 mayexecute on one or more processors of the existing embedded electronicsystems. For example, in some embodiments, these components may executeon the flight computer of an aircraft. Using the existing processors ofthe embedded electronic systems may be particularly beneficial whenthere are space or weight limitations imposed by the vehicle.

As discussed above, interface module 113, shown in FIG. 2, allowsexisting embedded electronic systems to operate with external systemswithout significantly modifying the existing embedded electronicsystems. Further, Applicants have appreciated that, in some situations,it may be desirable to add new embedded electronic systems to a vehicleand to allow these new electronic systems to interoperate with theexisting embedded electronic system. Thus, in some embodiments,interface module 113 may be used to interface existing embeddedelectronic systems with newly added electronic systems, without makingsignificant modifications the existing embedded electronic systems. Thismay be done in any suitable way, as the invention is not limited in thisrespect.

For example, it may be desired to add to an aircraft an infrared camerasystem for use, for example, in detecting objects at night that are notvisible to the pilot. It may be desirable to provide information aboutany detected objects to the aircraft's existing flight computer (e.g.,so that the flight computer can compute a flight path that avoids theseobjects). Thus, for example, interface module 113 may interface with theinfrared camera system and receive image data from the infrared camera(e.g., via interface processing element 213), process the image data,for example, to locate any potential obstacles, format that informationinto a format suitable for use by the flight computer, and send theinformation to the flight computer so that the flight computer mayre-compute the aircraft's flight path.

In addition, in some situations it may be desirable to add additionalfunctionality to existing embedded electronic systems of a vehiclewithout significantly modifying these systems. Thus, in someembodiments, such capabilities may be implemented in interface module113 without requiring further modification to the embedded electronicsystems. For example, if it is desired to add to interface module 113the capability to communicate with a new external system, one or moreadditional components may be added to interface module 113 (and/orexisting components may be modified) to process data received from thenew external system and send the data to one or more of the existingembedded electronic systems. Thus, modifications to interface module 113may be made to enable the embedded electronic systems to communicatewith additional external systems, without having to significantly modifythe embedded electronic systems.

Applicants have appreciated that, in some situations, informationreceived from an external system may be sensitive. Thus, it may bedesirable in some situations to allow only the components of interfacemodule 113 and the embedded systems of the vehicle that are intended toreceive this information to have access to this information. However, asdiscussed above, in some embodiments, internal network 201 of interfacemodule 113 is a peer-to-peer network in which each of components 203-221is a peer. Thus, information placed on internal network 201 may beaccessible by any of components 203-221. However, when sensitiveinformation is placed on the internal network 201, it is desirable toprevent unauthorized components of interface module 113 from having theability to access this information. Thus, in some embodiments of theinvention components that are not intended recipients of sensitiveinformation are blocked from receiving this information. This may bedone in any suitable way, as the invention is not limited in thisrespect.

For example, in one embodiment, each component may operate as anapplication program on a system that runs a certified operating system.The operating systems of each system may be synchronized and certaintime slots may be designated for sensitive communications. Thus, forexample, the first 10 milliseconds of every second may be used forclassified communications. If a component is not authorized to receivesensitive information, the operating system for that component maydisable network communications for the period of time designated forsensitive communications. Thus, the operating system prevents componentsthat are not authorized to receive sensitive information from accessingthis data.

Applicants have further appreciated that it may be desirable to testinterface module 113 to verify the capabilities of the interface module113. This may be done, for example, prior to installing the interfacemodule in a vehicle and/or when adding new components to the interfacemodule after it has been installed in a vehicle. Thus, in someembodiments, interface module 113 may be capable of interfacing with asimulation environment that simulates external systems. The simulationenvironment may simulate external systems by sending information tointerface module 113 similar to the information that the externalsystems would send.

The simulation environment may interface with the interface module inany suitable way, as the invention is not limited in this respect. Forexample, in some embodiments the simulation environment may communicatewith interface module 113 by sending information to or receivinginformation from one or more of communication devices 223.Alternatively, in some embodiments, the simulation environment maycoupled with internal network 201 of interface module 113.

As described in above, interface module 113 may provide the capabilityto interface existing embedded electronic systems with external systems(e.g., the Global Information Grid), to interface existing embeddedelectronic systems with newly added embedded electronic systems, and toadd new functionality to existing embedded electronic systems. However,the peer-to-peer networking architecture used by interface module 113presents challenges in adapting to changes in the embedded electronicsystems of a vehicle, as well as changes in the external systems withwhich it is desired to allow the embedded systems to communicate.

For example, in interface module 113, each component on internal network201 supports peer interactions over the internal network. Thus, if anadditional component is added to the network (e.g., to provide newfunctionality to the embedded systems, to interface existing embeddedsystems with a new external system, or to interface existing embeddedsystems with a new embedded system), modifications to the othercomponents on the network may, in some situations, be needed to supportpeer-to-peer interaction with the new component. Further, the externalnetworks with which it is desired for the interface module to interfacemay change over time (e.g., modifications may be made to the externalnetworks or new external networks with which it is desired to interfacemay come into existence). As the external networks change, manycomponents on the internal network may have to be modified to adapt tothese changes.

In addition, some external networks, such as the GIG, communicateaccording to a set of standards. This is advantageous, as it permitsnewly developed systems to interoperate with these networks by designingthese systems to operate according to the standards used by the externalnetworks. However, the use of these standards may require each componenton the internal network of interface module 113 to support interactionwith these standards. Further, such standards frequently change overtime and, as these standards evolve, multiple (or all) of the componentson the internal network may need to be modified to accommodate thesechanges.

Moreover, external networks, such as the GIG, may become unavailable dueto, for example, communication interruptions. These interruptions may becaused, for example, by interference on the communications channel,hardware failure in communication devices, or other causes. Because ofthe peer-to-peer architecture of the internal network of interfacemodule 113, each component may have to individually handle serviceinterruptions.

Further, when new functionality is added to interface module 113 (e.g.,a new application to process information), the system operation may haveto be redesigned to accommodate a new component that performs the newfunctionality or one or more existing components may have to modified toperform the new functionality. Either of these approaches may requiretime-consuming integration and testing.

Thus, in some embodiments, an interface module having a centralizedarchitecture may be used. Such an interface module may address thelimitations described above in connection with an interface modulehaving a peer-to-peer architecture (i.e., interface module 113).However, the invention is not limited in this respect as, in someembodiments, the interface module may address only some of theselimitations and, in some embodiments, the interface module may notaddress any of these limitations.

One example of an interface module 301 having a centralized architectureis shown in FIG. 3. Interface module 301 includes workflows 303,services 305, embedded systems interfaces 307, subscription/publicationmanager 311, communication interfaces 313, and discovery manager 315.These components may communicate with each other via information network309. Workflows 303 serve as central managers for information coming intoand out of interface module 313.

Services 305 are components that provide library functions. For example,in some embodiments, services provided in interface module 301 mayinclude a digital map processing service (e.g., a service that providesthe functionality of digital map processing element 221) or acollaboration and replanning service (e.g., a service that provides thefunctionality of collaboration and replanning element 205). It should beappreciated that these are merely two examples of the types of servicesthat may be provided in interface module 301 and that the invention isnot limited to any number or type of services. In some embodiments,interface module 301 may provide a service container capability. Thatis, the service container may provide extra computing resources to allowfor new services to be added to the adapter. The services in the servicecontainer may interact with interface module 301 in a manner similar tothat of the embedded electronic systems of the vehicle, except thatthese services may run in the same environment (e.g., the same computinghardware, application framework, and/or operating system) as interfacemodule 301.

Embedded system interfaces 307 are interfaces that interface interfacemodule 301 with the embedded electronic systems of a vehicle. In someembodiments, interface module 301 may include an embedded systeminterface for each embedded electronics system or device, or type ofsystem or device in the vehicle in which interface module 301 isemployed. For example, in some embodiments in which interface module 301is employed in an aircraft, embedded system interfaces 307 may include a“1553 interface” to interface interface module 301 with the existingMilitary Standard 1553 (i.e., MIL-STD-1553) bus used by the aircraftavionics. Such an interface allows interface module 301 to receiveinformation from and send information to the embedded electronic systemsthat communicate using the 1553 avionics bus.

Subscription/Publication Manager 311 manages subscriptions toinformation provided by external networks or systems and publication ofinformation provided from the vehicle's embedded electronic systems toexternal networks or systems. Thus, for example, if one of the embeddedelectronic systems of the vehicle uses information from real-timeintelligence feeds provided by an external system, subscription manager311 may establish a subscription with the external source of this dataso that the external source provides the information on a continuousbasis. Subscription/Publication Manager 311 may manage thesesubscriptions by, for example, selecting what information should beprovided from the external data source, ensuring that the subscriptionsremain current, renewing subscriptions if required, and/or performingany other subscription management functions.

Subscription/Publication Manager 311 may also manage subscriptions fromexternal systems or networks to information provided by interface module301. For example, if the vehicle in which an interface module isemployed is an aircraft that includes, for example, a camera forphotographing the terrain over which it is flying, it may desirable toprovide the photographs taken by this camera to terrestrial locations(e.g., a command and control center and/or infantry or armored cavalryunits in the area). Thus, for example, terrestrial systems may subscribeto interface module 301 so that interface module 301 provides thephotographs to these systems on a continuous basis.Subscription/Publication Manager 311 may manage such subscriptions by,for example, ensuring that the appropriate data is sent to theappropriate subscriber.

Communication Interfaces 313 are interfaces between interface module 301and communication devices used to communicate with external networks.For example, in some embodiments, a joint tactical radio system (JTRS)radio may be used to send information to and receive information fromexternal networks and systems. Thus, communications interfaces 313 mayinclude an interface that interfaces information network 309 ofinterface module 301 with the JTRS radio. It should be appreciated thatthis only example of a communication interface that may be used and thatthe invention is not limited to any number or type of communicationinterface.

Discovery Manager 315 manages discovery of external systems that may beused as sources of data for interface module 301. It may also manageregistration of interface module 301 as a source of data to externalsystems. For example, if interface module 301 desires to receiveintelligence data on enemy locations to provide to an embeddedelectronic system, discovery manager 315 may discover any externalsystems or networks that have this information available. Similarly, ifinterface module 301 provides imagery data generated by an embeddedelectronic system, discover manager 315 may register the availability ofthat data to external systems.

As discussed above, workflows 303 are managers of information cominginto and out of interface module 301. That is, a workflow defines whatinformation is needed or desired, which external networks or systemsand/or embedded systems produce that information, which externalnetworks and/or embedded systems consume that information, how tointerface with external systems, what processing of that informationshould be done before sending the information to its ultimatedestination, and/or any other information flow specifications. In someembodiments, a separate workflow may be defined for each type ofinformation that the interface module 301 receives. For example,separate workflows may be defined for real-time intelligenceinformation, map information, infrared imagery, and any other type ofinformation that interface module 301 receives. Thus, a workflow mayinterface with the external systems that provide the type of data thatit manages. However, the invention is not limited in this respect as aseparate workflow need not be defined for each type of information and,in some embodiments, a single workflow may define the flow ofinformation for multiple types of information.

Workflows may manage information flow in any suitable way, as theinvention is not limited in this respect. For example, in someembodiments in which interface module 301 is employed in an aircraft,one of the existing embedded electronic systems of the aircraft may be aroute planner that uses information including current location of theaircraft, destination of the aircraft, intelligence information (e.g.,information on the locations of enemies and friendlies), and geographicinformation (e.g., information on the terrain of the location in whichthe aircraft is located) and generates a route for the aircraft, takinginto account the geography and known threats in the area (andpotentially using the geography to avoid detection by these threats).Thus, it may be desirable to provide the route planner with up-to-datemap information and intelligence information so that the route plannerhas more recent information to use in generating a route.

Without information provided to it via interface module 301, the onlyinformation that the route planner may have available is the map andintelligence information loaded prior to take-off, and any intelligenceinformation obtained from on-board sensors. The route planner would nothave the ability to obtain updated map or intelligence information from,for example, other friendly aircraft or terrestrial vehicles in thearea.

Thus, in some embodiments, the route planner may express a desire formap and intelligence information via an interface for the route planner(e.g., one of embedded systems interfaces 307). One of workflows 303 maybe, for example, a workflow that manages intelligence information andanother workflow of workflows 303 may be, for example, a workflow thatmanages map information. The workflow that manages intelligenceinformation may learn of the route planner's desire for intelligenceinformation from embedded system interface 307. This workflow may thenrequest that discovery manager 315 perform a discovery of sources ofintelligence information on, for example, the locations of hostilesand/or friendlies in the area. Discovery manager 315 may inform theworkflow of any discovered external systems that are available toprovide such information. The workflow may then connect to one or moreof the external systems discovered by Discovery Manger 315 (e.g., viaone or more of communication interfaces 313) and request intelligenceinformation from these systems. Alternatively, in some embodiments, theworkflow may subscribe to these systems (e.g., viaSubscription/Publication Manager 311) so that these systems may provideinformation to interface module 301 on a continuous basis, withoutinterface module 301 having to repeatedly request the information. Oncethe requested intelligence information is received from the externalsystem, workflow 303 may provide this information to the route plannervia the interface 307 for the route planner.

As discussed above, the route planner may also express a desire for mapdata. A separate workflow may obtain map data from an external systemfor the route planner in a manner similar to that described above inconnection with the intelligence information workflow. However, in someembodiments, the workflow may not need to obtain information for anembedded system from an external source, as there may be a source ofthat data in the vehicle. For example, in some embodiments, one ofservices 305 may be a map server that is capable of generating maps froma database of map data on the vehicle. Thus, rather than connect to anexternal system for obtaining map data, the map data workflow mayrequest the desired maps from the map server utility and provide thisinformation to the route planner via the interface 307 for the routeplanner. In some situations, when the map data workflow requests a mapfrom the map server utility, the map server utility may respond byindicating that it does not have the requested map. In such a situation,the map data workflow may then obtain the desired map from an externalsystem in a manner similar to that described above in connection withthe intelligence information workflow.

In the example above, the route planner was capable of expressing adesire for intelligence information and map data. However, Applicantshave appreciated that, in some embodiments, an embedded electronicsystem may not be capable of expressing a desire for or requestinginformation from an external system (e.g., because the system wasdesigned to operate using only data pre-loaded into the system). In suchsituations, in some embodiments, the workflow may be aware that theembedded system is incapable of requesting data and, rather than waitfor a request from the embedded system for data, may anticipate that theembedded system could use certain information and provide thatinformation the embedded system without it having been requested to doso. Alternatively, in some embodiments, a human operator may requestthat interface module 301 provide certain information to the embeddedsystem (e.g., via a human interface of the vehicle's embedded electronicsystems, via a human interface to interface module 301, or in any othersuitable way). Alternatively, in some embodiments, the embedded systemmay send requests to existing internal systems for data. Interfacemodule 301 may intercept these requests and provide updated data from,for example, external sources or other on-board sources, to the embeddedsystem. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the embedded system itselfmay be modified so that is capable of obtaining data from externalsources.

Applicants have appreciated that in some situations, communication linksmay not be available (e.g., due to interference on the channel, hardwarefailure, or other reasons) and thus it may not be possible to obtaininformation from external systems or networks. Thus, in someembodiments, workflows may cache information received from externalsystems. If an external system is unavailable (e.g., due to a serviceinterruption), the workflows may provide the cached information toembedded systems, for example, until more recent information fromexternals systems can be obtained.

Interface module 301 and its components may be implemented in anysuitable way, as the invention is not limited in this respect. In someembodiments, interface module 301 may employ a service-orientedarchitecture (SOA) to facilitate communication with external systems andto facilitate communication between the internal components of interfacemodule 301. SOA is a set of standards that support machine to machineand interprocess interaction, including message passing and discovery ofavailable services. SOA is intended to provide loose coupling betweensystems. That is, SOA provides a set of generic interfaces that everySOA system uses and the ability to deliver application-specific messagesvia these interfaces. The content, format, and structure of theapplication-specific messages are defined by extensible schema that mayalso be passed through the interface. Thus, in some embodiments,interface module 301 may employ SOA interfaces to communicate withexternal systems.

In interface module 301, because workflows 303 interface with externalsystems, if the interface that an external system uses changes, in someembodiments only the workflows that interface with the external systemmay be modified. Thus, in some embodiments, it may not be necessary tomodify other internal components of interface module 301. Although insome embodiments or situations it may be necessary to modify otherinternal components of interface module 301 to accommodate changes inthe interfaces used by external systems, such modifications may not beas extensive as they would without use of an interface module such asinterface module 301.

Further, if it is desired to operate with an additional external systemthat provides a new type of data, a new workflow may be added tointerface with the additional system and handle the new type of datathat the external system provides. It is not necessary to modify any ofthe other existing components of interface module 301 to enableinteroperation with the new external system.

Further, because workflows 303 route information among the internalcomponents of interface module 301, it is not required that the internalcomponents be designed to work with each other. Further, new services(e.g., that provide additional functionality) may be added to the systemwithout requiring modifications to the other services or interfaces ofthe interface module. Rather, workflows 303 may be modified to takeutilize any new services added to the system. In addition, workflows 303may handle any service interruptions (e.g., by providing cachedinformation during service interruptions) so that the other componentsneed not each individually have the capability to handle suchinterruptions.

In some embodiments, interface module 301 may be implemented using acomponent framework. That is, a number of types of components may bedefined, and an interface may be defined for each of the types ofcomponents. Each of the internal components of interface module 301 maybe implemented according to one of these defined interfaces.

One example of a component framework that may be used in someembodiments is shown in FIG. 4. In the example of a FIG. 4, five typesof components are defined: utility components 401, external interfaces403, platform policy components 405, mission workflow components 407,and legacy interface components 409.

Legacy interface components 409 are components that interface with theembedded electronic systems of a vehicle. These components may monitorfor events or messages from the embedded systems, transform informationfrom a external message into a format usable by an embedded system(e.g., using a transformation utility), manage I/O devices and channels,and track the state of the embedded systems. Thus, for example, embeddedsystems interface 307 of interface module 301, may be implemented aslegacy interface components.

Mission Workflow components 407 orchestrate the services used to satisfythe information desired for a particular mission or application. Thesecomponents may be invoked on an mission or application-related event orrequest and may handle flow logic and policy specific to a particularmission or application. These components may be capable of modifying,aggregating, correlating, and routing messages. Thus, for example,workflows 303 of interface module 301 may be implemented as MissionWorkflow components 407.

Platform Policy components 405 are components that provide a system-widefunctionality that is not specific to a particular mission orapplication. These components may enforce system policies that are notspecific to any particular mission or application. Such components maybe invoked when specific message types are received or when an endpointis accessed by an external agent (e.g., for authentication purposes).For example, a mission commander may have a policy that there should beradio silence between all vehicles participating in the system duringcertain stage of the mission. The interface module may include aplatform policy component that checks when radio communication ispermitted and enforces the policy of radio silence when radiocommunication is not permitted. Other examples of platform policycomponents are Subscription/Publication Manager 311 and DiscoveryManager 315 of interface module 301.

External Interfaces 403 are components that manage information flowacross standard interfaces between external systems and the internalinformation network of interface module 301. These components may beinvoked when called by a client or when relevant information is receivevia the information network and may service any calls by performing anyrequired transformation and invoking other components of interfacemodule 301 to handle received information. These components also manageresponses from the components that handle the received information andreturn any applicable service response to the client. Examples ofExternal Interface components are Communication Interfaces 313 ofinterface module 301.

Utility Components 401 are components that provide library functions foruse by the other components. For example, utility components may providecaching functionality or may be capable for transforming informationfrom one format to another. Services 305 of interface module 301 areexamples of utility components.

Component Programming Interfaces 411 are defined interfaces for eachtype of components. Thus, for example, there an interface may be definedfor each of component types 401, 403, 405, 407, and 409. That is, forexample, Mission Workflow components 407 may implement the MissionWorkflow Component Programming Interface and Platform Policy components405 may implement the Platform Policy Component Programming Interface.Providing a standard interface for each type of component class promotesconsistency, interchangeability, and composability of components. Forexample, the Component Programming Interface for a type of component maydefine a system for authentication and access control. The system forauthentication and access control defined by the Component ProgrammingInterface may be the system that is used by the external systems withwhich the interface module communicates. If the system forauthentication and access control used by these external systemschanges, the interface module may accommodate this change by modifyingthe Component Programming Interface, without having to change theunderlying components themselves.

Platform Integration Target Framework Abstraction Layer 413 may be, forexample, a software layer that interfaces the Component ProgrammingInterfaces implemented by the components of the interface module to thecomponent application programming interface (API) of the ApplicationFramework that interface module 301 uses.

Application Framework 415 is an application framework used by theinterface module. Examples of commercially-available applicationframeworks include the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) andthe OSGi application framework.

Java Runtime Environment is a program that executes Java bytecodeprograms. That is, it serves as interpreter for programs (e.g.components). It should be appreciated that the Java Runtime Environmentis one example an interpreter that may be used. However, the inventionis not limited in this respect, as any interpreter or compiler may beused in the execution of programs.

Computer Platform 419 is the underlying hardware and operating system onwhich the higher layers execute. Any suitable processing hardware andoperating system may be used, as the invention is not limited in thisrespect.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention can beimplemented in any of numerous ways. For example, the embodiments may beimplemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, the software code can be executed on anysuitable processor or collection of processors, whether provided in asingle computer or distributed among multiple computers. It should beappreciated that any component or collection of components that performthe functions described above can be generically considered as one ormore controllers that control the above-discussed functions. The one ormore controllers can be implemented in numerous ways, such as withdedicated hardware, or with general purpose hardware (e.g., one or moreprocessors) that is programmed using microcode or software to performthe functions recited above.

In this respect, it should be appreciated that one implementation of theembodiments of the present invention comprises at least onecomputer-readable medium (e.g., a computer memory, a floppy disk, acompact disk, a tape, etc.) encoded with a computer program (i.e., aplurality of instructions), which, when executed on a processor,performs the above-discussed functions of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

The computer-readable medium can be transportable such that the programstored thereon can be loaded onto any computer environment resource toimplement the aspects of the present invention discussed herein. Inaddition, it should be appreciated that the reference to a computerprogram which, when executed, performs the above-discussed functions, isnot limited to an application program running on a host computer.Rather, the term computer program is used herein in a generic sense toreference any type of computer code (e.g., software or microcode) thatcan be employed to program a processor to implement the above-discussedaspects of the present invention.

It should be appreciated that in accordance with several embodiments ofthe present invention wherein processes are implemented in a computerreadable medium, the computer implemented processes may, during thecourse of their execution, receive input manually (e.g., from a user).

The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” andvariations thereof, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafterand additional items.

Having described several embodiments of the invention in detail, variousmodifications and improvements will readily occur to those skilled inthe art. Such modifications and improvements are intended to be withinthe spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoingdescription is by way of example only, and is not intended as limiting.The invention is limited only as defined by the following claims and theequivalents thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of providing access to a plurality of embedded systems in avehicle via an interface module having an internal network and aplurality of components that communicate via the internal network,wherein the components include at least one mission workflow componentand at least one embedded system interface component, and wherein themethod comprises acts of: receiving, via the at least one embeddedsystem interface component, information from at least one of theplurality of embedded systems; determining, at the at least one missionworkflow component, at least one system external to the vehicle to whichto provide the information; and providing the information from theinterface module to the at least one system external to the vehicle. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining at least onesystem external to the vehicle to which to provide the informationcomprises an act of determining the at least one system external to thevehicle to which to provide the information based on a type of theinformation.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining atleast one system external to the vehicle to which to provide theinformation comprises an act of determining the at least one systemexternal to the vehicle to which to provide the information based on atype of the system external to the vehicle from which the informationwas received.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of providing theinformation from the interface module to the at least one systemexternal to the vehicle further comprises an act of transforming theinformation to a format usable by the at least one system external tothe vehicle.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the system external tothe vehicle is a first external system and wherein the method furthercomprises an act of adding an additional component to the interfacemodule to enable the interface module to send information to a secondexternal system.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising acts of:caching information received from at least one of the plurality ofembedded systems; determining if an interruption in a connection betweenthe interface module and the system external to the vehicle hasoccurred; and when it is determined that an interruption in theconnection has occurred, providing the cached information to the systemexternal to the vehicle.